5 sep. 2008

In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges under the 2002 Minnesota version of the Federal Patriot Act, Ramsey County Prosecutors have formally charged 8 alleged leaders of the RNC Welcoming Committee with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald, and Max Spector, face up to 7 1/2 years in prison under the terrorism enhancement charge which allows for a 50% increase in the maximum penalty.http://twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/breaking-rnc-8-charged-conspiracy-riot-furtherance-terrorism

Amy Goodman, one of four journalists arrested at an anti-RNC protest, tells her story

“I got a call that two of our producers had been bloodied by the police,” Goodman said. “I did not stop running until I got to where they were.” The producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, had been reporting on the protest of the convention that was the unfolding several blocks away.When Goodman arrived at the scene 20 minutes later, she asked the riot police if she could see her producers, who were being held in police vehicles. “I just said, 'I want to talk to a commander,' ” said Goodman, who had her own press badge slung around her neck. “They didn’t skip a beat; they just started arresting me.”"I was very angry. This was a violation of my rights," Goodman said. "Butit’s so much bigger than us. When the press is shut down, it's closing the eyes and ears of a critical watchdog in a democratic society."http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/amy-goodman-arr.html

Home of Michelle Gross (Communities Against Police Brutality) house invaded by US Gestapo

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets.http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/30/police_raids/index.html